Folding gate.



H. M. GOOMES. FOLDING GATE. APPLIOATION FILED Jun; 17, 1907.

Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

O m rm a Wuewboz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

HENRY M, OOOMES, OF QUEENS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM R. PITTCOMPOSITE IRON WORKS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FOLDING- GATE,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 6, 1909,

- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. OOOMES, of the town of Queens, county ofQueens, and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Folding Gates, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to folding gates and the like in which a seriesof uprights or vertical bars are pivotally connected together bydiagonally disposed connecting bars. By my invention I provide anadditional or intermediate upright, which will more completely close themesh of such gate without substantially adding to the width of the samewhen collapsed, and I obtain such result with a minimum of added weight.With these ends in view, I will describe one form of gate embodying myinvention and then point out the novel features in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gatecontaining my improvement, the same being in extended position; Fig. 2is an enlarged view of a portion of said gate in its extended positionshowing more clearly the location of the intermediate upright and itssliding connection with the diagonal connecting bars; Fig. 3 is anenlarged view of a portion of the gate in its folded adjustment showingthe posi tion of the intermediate upright and of the diagonal connectingbars in dotted lines; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 andFig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

In the drawings, A designates the main uprights, which are preferablyformed of two channel iron sections a (0 arranged with their hollowfaces toward each other and rigidly held together in any suitablemanner. Such sections are sufliciently separated from each other toreceive between them the thickness of a pair of diagonally disposedconnecting bars B B and also the intermediate upright D. Several mainuprights may be united by one or more series of such diagonally disposedconnecting bars, three of such series being shown in Fig. 1, but as theconstruction and operation of each series are substantially the same, itwill only be necessary to describe one such series, and for thispurpose, I have selected the upper series of the gate. As shown in Figs.1 and 2, the diagonally disposed connecting bars of said series arepreferably arranged in pairs B B and each pair is preferably pivoted toone main upright by means of a fixed pivot b and the ends thereofreciprocate up and down in channels in the inner faces of the sectionsof the adjacent main upright, suitable means such as washers or spacingferrules not shown being provided wherever necessary to compensate forthe thickness of the opposite connecting bars and of the intermediateuprights hereinafter described. Except at the side edges of the gate,the bars of each pair of such connecting bars are preferably pivoted attheir centers, the

ends extending on both sides of the main upright to which they arepivoted and being connected to the ends of the bars of another pair,which ends move together up and down in the channeled faces of theadjacent main uprights on each side of said central main upright. Themembers of one pair of such bars cross the members of the adjacent pairintermediate of the main upright to which they are pivoted and theadjacent main upright, and said bars so cross at two points E and E, onepoint above and the other below the fixed pivot. It is obvious that saidtwo points E and E will move in opposite directions when the gate isoperated to open or close a passageway. As best illustrated in Figs. 2and 4, intermediate uprights D, preferably single flat bars, areinterposed between the members of such adjacent pairs of connecting barsat the points where the same cross each other, shown on Figs. 1 and 2 asE and E. Each intermediate upright may be pivotally connected to saiddiagonal connecting bars at one of said oppositely moving points ofintersection in any series of such bars, and have a sliding connectionat the other. As best shown in Fig. 2, this sliding connection consistsof an elongated slot, which slot receives the pivot e by which the saidadj acent diagonal bars are pivoted together and loosely connects thesaid intermediate uprights therewith. Instead of pivoting said uprightat E to the bars of the same series, I preferably connect the same(Fig. 1) to the bars of the two lower series by means of the fixed pivot6. When the gate is collapsed or extended, it is obvious that the pivote, will move up or down in said elongated slot. The manner of connectingsaid upright may be varied in many ways, for instance the slidingconnection may be omitted altogether and the intermediate uprightinterposed between and pivoted at twoor more of said points ofintersection moving in the same direction. It is obvious that, by reasonof the peculiar position of this intermediate upright, the gate may becollapsed or folded into substantially as small compass as if nointermediate upright were present, the said intermediate upright,together with the diagonal connecting bars, being inclosed within themain uprights.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A folding gate, comprising a plurality of main uprights, diagonallydisposed connecting bars pivoted to said main uprights so as to fold andunfold, and an intermediate upright interposed between and secured tosaid diagonal connecting bars, substantially as set forth.

2. A folding gate com rising a series of main uprights, a series ofiagonally disposed connecting bars pivotally secured to said mainuprights so as to fold'and unfold, said diagonal bars crossing eachother intermediate of said main uprights, and an intermediate uprightinterposed between said diagonal connecting bars and connected theretoat points where they cross each other, substantially as described.

3. A folding gate, comprising a series of main uprights formed of twosections, a series of diagonally disposed connecting bars pivotedbetween said sections and having sliding connection with the adjacentmain upright, said connecting bars crossing each other intermediate ofsaid main uprights, and an intermediate upright interposed between saidconnecting bars and connected thereto at points where the said barscross each other, substantially as set forth.

4. A folding gate, comprising a series of main uprights formed of twosections having channels in their inner faces, a plurality of series ofdiagonally disposed connecting bars, the bars of each series arranged inpairs, the members of each pair pivoted to one main upright and havingsliding connection with a channel in the inner face of the adjacent mainupright, and also crossing the members of an adjacent pair intermediateof said main uprights both above and below the pivoted point, and anintermediate upright interposed between and pivoted to the connectingbars of one series at a point of intersection which moves in onedirection when the gate is folded, and having sliding connection withthe bars of another series at a point of intersection moving in theopposite direction.

In witness whereof, I have signed my name to the foregoing specificationin the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RAFFoR PITT, HELEN DELEHANTY.

